CHELMSFORD -- Phil Stanway holds two full-time jobs. There's the one that pays him, as vice president of software at Morgan Scientific, and then there's the one that allows him to give back to his town.

As the director of the Chelmsford Open Space Stewardship since its inception in November 2005, Stanway is dedicated to maintaining and beautifying the town's open spaces and he organizes an ever-expanding army of volunteers to share the workload.

Phil Stanway, right, longtime director of the Chelmsford Open Space Stewardship, and his wife Joanne join volunteer Jim Tribou at the Sunny Meadow Farm community gardens last Tuesday. They call Tribou MacGyver because he can fix anything. SUN / JULIA MALAKIE

When can you find Stanway working in any of these wooded havens and agricultural lands?

"Any day that ends in Y," he said, enjoying a brief moment of relaxation at Sunny Meadow Farm Tuesday evening.

He gets up around 4 a.m. and brings his sheltie, Jerry, to walk a few miles on open space trails every day to make sure everything is as it should be, and fix what isn't. He does this even in the dark of winter, bringing a headlamp to light the way.

Prior to COSS, Stanway, 57, had done similar open space work with the Randolph Mountain Club and on Star Island, both in New Hampshire. When he moved to Chelmsford in 2001 upon marrying his wife, Joanne, he brought with him his passion for outdoor work and experience organizing volunteers.

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He also took it seriously when his father-in-law, the late Elmer Bartels, told him public service was a requirement to be in his family.

Stanway rarely ever goes on an actual vacation -- he usually devotes that time to COSS, too.

It all began with the desire to clean up trash and fix trails at the Lime Quarry Reservation.

"I was astounded that anyone would offer to do this on a volunteer basis, and feeling that we should never turn down the offer of free labor, urged the other members to support Phil's initiative," said Sam Chase, who was a selectman at the time.

A grape arbor among the plots. SUN / JULIA MALAKIE

Stanway organized a work party that turned the property around and made it a family-friendly site.

Following the success of that project, Stanway was asked to take on Crooked Spring. Then came the Wright Reservation, followed by Russell Mill Pond, Heart Pond and Red Wing Farm. And on it went, to include about 16 open space sites and other parks and common areas. Stanway is now also a director of the Chelmsford Land Conservation Trust, which owns another nine properties.

As COSS cleaned up each site, more people started going to them.

"As we expanded, we found more people who wanted to walk the trails, and wanted to be part of it," Stanway said.

"The more people got involved, the more fun it was," Joanne Stanway said.

A shade garden. SUN / JULIA MALAKIE

Getting more people out to the conservation sites, especially the younger generation, is vital to maintaining them into the future, the Stanways said.

They've begun a number of creative annual events to do just that, including the "Pumpkin Armada" at Heart Pond around Halloween, the "Day Before Thanksgiving Walk" at Thanksgiving Forest and the "Amazing Decorated Winter Tree Scavenger Hunt," spread across 13 open space sites.

Over the past 11 years, Phil Stanway has been a mentor for about 50 Eagle Scout projects, and five more are underway.

Sunny Meadow Farm in particular has become sort of a "clearinghouse" for these projects, Stanway said. Some notable projects there include Tyler Fleming's award-winning irrigation system, Bryce Russell-Benoit's greenhouse and Pat Storey's accessible raised-bed garden. At Red Wing Farm, Carlos Teodoro built a footbridge over the stream that's strong enough to hold a tractor.

Stanway said he always has problems that need solving, and the scouts are happy to help.

He also works with businesses like Kronos, Puma, Red Hat and Constellation Energy to organize employee volunteer days.

COSS is always happy to accept monetary donations through the town manager's office, which allows all of its funds to be held and accounted for transparently, Stanway said. COSS also accepts donations of tools, materials and plants -- he and his volunteers can find a use for just about anything.

Born in Manchester, England, Stanway bounced around the U.S. and Europe for much of his childhood -- including a seventh-grade stint at Chelmsford's old McFarlin School -- due to his father's job as an engineer with Boeing and General Electric.

While Stanway has lived in the U.S. a total of 51 years -- and the rest of his family was naturalized decades ago -- an old paperwork issue and a recent clerical error have kept him a citizen of the U.K. With the recent issue now resolved, Stanway is happy to finally be on his way to becoming a U.S. citizen -- he waits now for a date to take his oath.

For more information about COSS, volunteer opportunities and upcoming fundraisers, visit facebook.com/ChelmsfordOSS or call Stanway at 978-273-1474.

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